Justices suggest Puerto Rico-born is natural born

Congressman from island thanks Breyer, Kennedy for their 'semi-opinion'

Published: 03/14/2013 at 11:49 PM

(Huffington Post) Supreme Court Justices Anthony Kennedy and Stephen Breyer seemed to indicate Thursday they’d consider a U.S. citizen born in Puerto Rico “natural-born” and eligible to run for president. Their comments, directed at Puerto Rican-born Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.), came during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on the Supreme Court’s budget.

“We’re waiting for your case on the Puerto Rican presidency to come to us, but you also have to be 35 years old, don’t you? Have you met that requirement?” Kennedy joked. “It’s Article II Section I.”

“I may double that soon,” Serrano replied. “It may come up some day, you might have someone born over there running. But thank you for your semi-opinion.”